The Dragon Tamer and the Goddess VolII
by aoi-akai
Summary: Seto Kaiba and Eiko Tsubaki, two old friends who have found love in the form of each other. Now they must face evil. An ancient evil that no one could of predicted threatens everyone. Seto X OC other OCs as well
1. So Young

Aoi: For those of you who are familiar with the title, welcome back! For those of you who find this title new and strange, allow me (the author) to explain.

As you can probably guess by the title, this is a part two. Part one, "The Dragon Tamer and the Goddess" can be found on my FanFiction profile. I highly suggest you read it first, just so you will be able to understand this story…

But as for you people who DO know the story, I hope you will enjoy this second half.

Enough rambling! On with the story!

* * *

"Upon Pompey's return to Egypt," Dr. Huga lectured to his students, one of them being Eiko. "He was decapitated. Just a few kilometers away from the Egyptian shore," he explained. Many of the students grimaced at the idea of the Roman general Pompey being decapitated oh his way to vist the Philopator family.

"Harsh," Eiko's classmate, Karu, whispered. Eiko covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

Dr. Huga looked up at the clock. "Well I think I've rambled on enough," he said, walking over to his desk. He quickly sat down in his chair; he took one last look at his students. "Tomorrow we will continue our talk about Egypt's relations with Rome; the same empire which, ironically, would make Egypt part of its empire some twenty years after this occurrence. Run along now."

Eiko picked her bag up from off the ground and began to leave. Karu followed.

"Poor Pompey, so young…." He said with false admiration. Eiko laughed as the two walked out of the stuffy lecture hall and into the brisk outdoors. Trees starting to lose their plumage lined the walkways as they headed for lunch.

"Hey, think about it this way, at least we get to learn about Cleopatra. The last queen of Egypt," Eiko said.

"I think that whole, 'Last queen of Egypt' thing is kind of a rip. She wasn't even Egyptian! She was Greek for crying out—" a student ran passed Karu, bumping him in the shoulder and making him drop his books.

"Watch it, would you!" he called after the boy. The boy kept running, not even noticing Karu. "The nerve of some people," he mumbled.

Eiko watched as the boy ran off. "I wonder what has him in such a hurry," she wondered aloud.

"He's a business major," Karu explained. "You know how they are."

Unfortunately Eiko did. The saying 'time is money' seemed to be their moral code. They were always rushing to their next class and never taking the time to have an actual conversation with anyone. That is, unless it was about stocks or some new investments… truth be told, Eiko really wasn't quite sure what they talked about. Even though she had been spending quite a bit of time with Seto, she wasn't very business savvy. She didn't fully understand what it meant to hold stock in a company and what exactly it entailed; she didn't understand copyrights… heck even taxes were confusing! (She had actually asked Seto to help her out with that; though she still didn't understand how to do them herself.)

Just as Karu finished stacking up his books, another student bumped into him, causing him to drop them yet again. Karu looked down at his pile of books and tugged at his spiked grey hair.

"What is this, I don't even—Hey!" he shouted at the student, who this time turned back at him.

"Oh, sorry!" he said genuinely. "I didn't see you there. Here, let me help." He leaned down to pick up the books. Eiko watched as the two boys piled up the books.

"What's the deal? This is the second time today I've gotten bumped into," Karu asked the student.

He looked up at him. "You haven't heard? There's a rumor going around that Seto Kaiba is on the campus!" the student said excitedly.

Eiko stiffened. She hadn't exactly told most of her college friends about Seto. She had just said that she had a boyfriend in a high position of power and authority.

"Huh, wonder why he would come here," Karu said aloud.

"Oh!" Eiko said a bit too loud.

"What's up?" Karu asked, looking up at Eiko.

"I forgot one of my books in the lecture hall! I'll be right back!" She ran off before Karu could say anything else.

She probably should have asked the student where the rumor stated Seto was… Eiko ran quickly across the campus trying to find her boyfriend. Eventually, she got tired and had to take a break. She steadied herself against a tree, gasping for air. "Man, I'm out of shape…" she huffed. Suddenly, her phone made a ringing sound. She pulled it out of her pocket to see Seto calling. She slapped her hand against her face. 'Calling him. That never crossed my mind…' she thought in angst.

She flipped open her phone and placed the receiver over her ear. "Hello?" she said into the phone.

"Eiko, where the hell are you?" Seto asked in an annoyed tone. "I've been looking all over the campus for you!"

"So I've heard…" Eiko mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing," she chimed back.

"Where are you?" Seto asked.

Eiko looked around. "I'm by the Psychology building," she explained.

"Eiko, I don't know where that is."

"Just look for a really big, plain, ugly building, okay?" Eiko explained further.

Within a few minutes, Seto arrived. He walked up to Eiko, who was still standing by the tree.

"What's up?" she asked, confused by his presence.

Seto shrugged. "Decided to get some air," he said simply. "You hungry?" he asked.

Eiko nodded. The two walked across the campus to a nearby ramen shop. They sat at a table near the back of the shop. They talked quietly before they were given a menu. Seto looked over the menu with a face of distraught.

"Are you sure you want to eat here?" Eiko asked. Seto said it was fine before a waiter walked up. "I'll have tonkotsu with pork and nori," Eiko said to the server.

Seto looked at the menu for a few more seconds. He looked back at the waiter. "Same for me," he said.

The two handed the waiter their menus. Eiko looked back at Seto.

"So, slow day at work, or…?" Eiko questioned.

"Hm, not really, why do you ask?" Seto replied, confused.

"I don't know, just always seems like you don't have a lot of free time," Eiko pointed out.

Seto shrugged. "I always take off for lunch," he explained. The waiter returned with their bowls of Ramen. Eiko gave a quick thanks to their server and began to eat. "After all, I wanted to hear in detail about your duel last night."

Eiko stopped eating."W-what?" Seto looked at her, his eyes serious. "H-how did you…?"

"You think I don't know what happens on my own property? Eiko, I have security guards, cameras; I've even asked Mallory to train some German Shepherds for me," Seto explained.

Eiko looked down at her ramen. Her reflection wavered in the murky broth."There really isn't much to talk about… Leud came, he asked me to duel, I accepted—"

"How did you win?" Seto interrupted.

Eiko's head shot up. "I-I…" Eiko stuttered, trying to think of a good strategy. "I… just played 'Mystical Elf' and 'Occult Attack'. Nothing new."

Seto stared her down. "You're lying." He said bluntly.

Eiko looked at him shocked. "W-what makes you say that?" she said, offended.

"Eiko, I can tell when you're lying. You stutter, it takes you forever to reply to simple questions, you have this scared look on your face—"

"M-maybe I was just freaked out, alright?" she yelled across the table. "Y-you weren't there!" Eiko looked down at her hands. "Do you know how scared I was… L-Lued… he's not a normal duelist…" Eiko said quietly.

Seto crossed his arms. "Do you really believe in that whole 'Shadow Game' thing?"he asked skeptically.

"… Yes." Eiko said, her head still down. She looked up at Seto, "Yes, I do."

Seto grimaced. "Well, I don't. I don't believe in any of that crap. Magic, fate; none of it's real."

Eiko looked at him, her face solemn. She pushed her bowl away from her and got up from her seat. "Where are you—?"

"I have a class soon," Eiko interrupted. "I want to try to be on time today," she explained. She pulled her wallet out of her bag.

"I'll pay for it," Seto said. Eiko ignored him and placed some yen onto the table. She then left without saying a word. Seto looked down at the ramen angrily.

"Would you like me to pack that up for you?" Seto looked up to see their waiter.

"I hate tonkotsu," he said. He then stood up—leaving behind the rest of the payment—and left.

* * *

Blue sat at the kitchen table, drinking tea as usual. She was about read to take another sip when the door swung open.

"Ah, hello Ei—" The door slammed before she could finish her sentence. Eiko stomped over to her desk; she dropped her bag down on the floor with a thug. "I'm guessing today was not a good one?" Blue questioned.

Eiko let her body drop into her seat."It's nothing… Seto and I..."

"Yes?" Blue asked. "You and Seto…?"

"Got into a fight, I suppose…" Eiko murmured. She rested her head against the hard wood desk.

"A fight?"

"More like a disagreement…" Eiko said quietly.

Blue set her cup down lightly onto the table. She stood up and walked over to Eiko. She lightly placed her hands on her shoulders.

"A heated one I see," she said softly. "Well, as Shakespeare once wrote, _'my only love sprung from my only hate.'_" Blue smiled softly.

Eiko just looked glumly at the wooden pattern. Blue noticed her unhappy look; she backed away from the desk and walked towards the kitchen. When she came back, she had a phone in her hands. She placed it near Eiko's face. "Shakespeare also once said,_'Screw your courage to the sticking place, and we'll not fail.'_"

Eiko looked up at Blue, confused by her words. "Why don't you call him," Blue offered.

"Call him?" Eiko questioned.

Blue proceeded back to the kitchen to drink her tea. "While I'm more a fan of face-to-face and letters, a phone conversation can be quite effective at times."

Eiko looked back at the phone. She picked it up and walked over to her room. She made sure to close the door behind her. Eiko dialed Seto's office number. The phone rang twice before Akina picked up.

"Hello?" Akina said with false enthusiasm.

"Akina, its Eiko." Akina perked up immediately.

"Oh, hi, Eiko! How was your lunch, romantic?" Eiko was quiet on the other end. Akina waited for a moment. "I'm guessing you want to talk to Seto now. Alrighty then, you two love birds, but I want to be filled in on the details later!" the line cut off as she waited for Seto to pick up.

"Hello?" a voice on the other line said.

"Seto, hi," Eiko said in an ambivalent tone.

"Eiko?" Seto said. Before he could say anything else, Eiko spoke.

"I felt like we should talk. You know, after that incident at the ramen shop."

"Oh… you're still thinking about that?" Seto replied.

Eiko stood speechless. "Well, yeah… you're not?" she asked.

"Please, it was nothing. I don't know why you got so worked up about it," Seto said.

"Well, I guess I didn't like the fact that you accused me of lying…" Eiko murmured.

"You **were **lying." Seto said bluntly. "And I would still like to know who you beat Leud."

"I told you," Eiko began angrily, "I just used 'Mystical Elf' and 'Occult Attack.'"

"And I told you, I know when you're lying."

Eiko gritted her teeth. "You said you have security, cameras, and vicious guard dogs. and yet you don't know how I won the duel?"

"First off, the guard dogs are still a work in progress," Seto corrected. "And that's none of your business."

"It is too my business! It's about me! That makes it my business!"

"Look, Eiko—"

"No, you look," Eiko said, interrupting. "I don't care if you think you know me, or you think you can tell me when I'm lying. Because you don't! You don't know anything!" Eiko yelled into the phone.

"What the hell makes you say that?" Seto asked. "Eiko, I've known you for years."

"No. You've known me for a few years. You didn't know me in middle school; you didn't know me in high school. You barely know me." Seto was quiet on the other end.

Eiko heard him sigh on the other end. "What?" Eiko asked.

"Nothing… just…" he was quiet again. "It's obvious you don't want to talk to me. I'll just go." Seto hung up.

His last words ringed in Eiko's ears like a familiar tune. Eiko fell to the ground, her eyes started to glisten with tears. She laid her face on her futon, he tears merged with the soft bedding.

"Eiko?" Blue said entering her room. She walked over, getting down on her knees. "What's wrong?"

Eiko looked up for a second. "_Things without all remedy should be without regard: what's done, is done_." she then buried her head into the sheets and began weeping again.

* * *

In the darkness of the night, Red stomped up the walkway to the Kaiba mansion. She cussed and growled as she walked, making her seem like some sort of rabid animal. Once she reached the top of the stairs, she attempted to kick down the door. "Ow! Son of a—" she cussed under her breath. Red decided to go for the less awesome route and just open the door.

"Oh, hello, Miss Tsubaki," a Kaiba Corp maid who happened to be passing by said. "May I help you?"

"Kaiba is here, right?" Red said, trying not to growl at the maid. She nodded and pointed her towards the study. Red nodded a 'thanks' at the woman and ran up the stairs. While she was walking through the halls, she ran into Mokuba.

"Red? Hey, what's—" Red brushed Mokuba to the side.

"Not now, Mokuba. Auntie Red has some business to take care of," she said. Mokuba just watched as she walked away in an anger-fueled hurry. After what seemed like hours Red finally reached the study. She studied the door. It seemed to be made out of a thinner wood that the one outside. She then noticed a small sliver of light, peeking out from the edge of the door. Red let out a small battle cry before she kicked the door open.

Seto turned around in his chair, a shocked look on his face. "What the—" His shocked look changed to annoyance when he saw Red as she walked up to his desk.

"What do you want you—" the back of Red's hand cut Kaiba's sentence short.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled as Kaiba rubbed where he had been slapped. Red then took some papers off of Kaiba's desk. "Work? You're doing work?"

Kaiba attempted to snatch the papers from Red's hands. She retaliated by turning her back to him quicker than he could grab. "You **should** be apologizing to Eiko," Red said matter-of-factly.

"Me? Why should I be apologizing?" Seto said, getting out of his chair.

"Because," Red then quickly moved a step back, preventing Kaiba from, once again, grabbing his work papers, "you were a jerk!"

"**I** was the jerk?" Kaiba lunged forward again. Red sidestepped to avoid his advance. "If anything, Eiko's being the jerk!"

"Eiko?" Kaiba tried to swipe the papers again, this time just missing them by just a few centimeters. "Since when is Eiko the jerk?"

"Not telling me how her duel ended for no reason," Seto explained.

"You're not respecting her personal secrets," Red retaliated.

"Treating me like a fool."

"Calling her like a liar!"

As they exchanged words, they continued their little dance. Seto would lunge; Red would dodge. There were some close calls but Seto's precious papers were still in Red's hands.

"Pretending like I don't know her!" Seto yelled.

"You **don't** know her!" Red yelled back. Suddenly, she rammed into the back of a bookcase, causing a small cascade of books to fall on top of her. Seto took this as a chance to steal back the papers. He looked at Red, his face ripe with anger and annoyance.

"Get out," Seto said. "I don't like you and you don't like me. I don't care if you think I'm wrong or a jerk because I'm sure as hell not admitting it! And I don't know where you and Eiko even get the idea that I don't know her. I'm her freaken boyfriend for crying out loud! And I've known her longer than anyone out of her school or that pack of dorks at the Game shop. So just leave before I call security to haul you out!"

Red stared back at Seto. Her eyes were still, as if she was unsure what to do next. She turned her body towards the door. She turned her head so she could look at Seto in the eye. "Burn in hell-fire." She said before punching the bookcase, causing the rest of the books to fall from the shelf. She then left without saying a word, slamming the door behind her. Seto stood alone in his study, his work papers in his hands and a pile of books on the ground.

* * *

Aoi: the author's note shall be put in the form of letters.

_Dear mom, I'm sorry I made fun of your profession's lecture halls. But come on, you've seen them too._

_Dear Stacy Schiff, that you for inspiring Dr. Huga's lecture, considering I didn't feel like googling one. I shall attempt to finish your book as soon as possible. ATTEMPT. I make no promises.__So. Many. Words!_

_Dear 8th__grade English teacher, thanks for getting me addicted to Shakespeare quotes -_-_

_Dear readers, I hope you will wait for my next chapter. I feel very confident about this second half, mainly because we get to some of my favorite parts in the story arc. The first few chapters will be a lot more serious than some my previous ones, but I hope you're willing to read on._

_Dear Carl, I WANT MY RECORDS BACK!_;_;


	2. Not Human

Aoi: Why Fan Fiction... WHY U NO WORK FOR ME!

Akia: From what I've heard everyone has been having problems

Aoi: *sobbing* But I need to update! I need to or else I will explode... That happens to me somtimes.

FF: I work now :D

Aoi: Oh sweet Joshua yes! And now the newst (slightly delayed) chapter of D&G

* * *

Eiko walked across the ever so familiar campus. Her face was solemn as she walked to class. No one could see her expression though, because her head hung down, looking at the pavement below her. Eiko walked into her lecture hall and took a seat at her normal table. Karu soon arrived.

"Oh my god…" Karu said. "You made it to class before I did! Hallelujah, it's a miracle!" He joked, raising his arms up the heavens.

Eiko looked at him seriously. "You were just in the bathroom, weren't you?"

Karu gave her a confused look. From the seat next to her, Eiko picked up a copy of _Shonen Jump Advanced, _which Eiko knew Karu was a fan of.

"You notice a lot when you look up," Eiko noted.

Karu laughed as he sat down in his seat next to Eiko. A girl with long, purplish black hair and thick black-rimmed glasses walked over.

"Did Eiko show up before Karu? Oh my god it's a-"

"Save it, Chikako, I already tried that," Karu explained.

"Aw, damn." Chikako said, placing her hands on her hips in disappointment. She leaned over and placed her elbow on the desk; her head rested in the palm of her hand. Eiko and Chikako were eye to eye; a pouty look came onto her face.

"I never get to make a good joke." She complained.

"And yet, you always seem to make us laugh." Karu was then smacked hard in the back of head. Eiko giggled; the two of them were always at it. Karu would always make fun of Chikako's wild antics, and Chikako would… well, usually just smack him, but it was still fun to watch.

"All right, class," a dark, luscious voice said. The three looked up to see a tall, curvy woman with red hair and stunning green eyes in the front of the class. A whistle escaped Karu's lips.

"Damn, Dr. Huga looks good as a woman."

"Who are you and what have you done with Dr. Huga!" Chikako yelled at the woman. The class couldn't help but laugh at Chikako's accusation.

"My name is Miss Richman, I will be your substitute," the woman explained. "Now if you could just take your seats." Students who had been lounging around the room quickly moved back into their usual spots. Chikako waved as she walked back to her seat across the room.

As Miss Richman began to talk, Karu passed Eiko a note.

'You all right? You seem kind of down,' the note read. Eiko quickly scribbled down a reply.

'Shouldn't we be focusing on the lecture?' she wrote back, trying to avoid the subject. Karu looked at the note for a second. He then tore out a small piece of paper and wrote on it. He showed it to Eiko.

'If we did, I think we would be the only ones.'

Eiko at first didn't understand, but she then looked around the room. Half of the class (mostly the boys) sat there drooling over Miss Richman, while the girls looked at the boys with looks of disgust.

Eiko tore out a piece of paper and quickly wrote down her thoughts.

'Had a fight with my boyfriend.' She explained.

'Ouch.' Karu wrote back. Eiko's hand moved quickly as she wrote another message.

'And then Red decided to confront him.'

Karu blinked at the note. He quickly wrote a reply. 'So, he's in the hospital then.'

Karu had only met Red once, but that was enough for him to know what kind of person she was. Eiko stifled a laugh.

"Ah, yes, you," Miss Richman said. "The girl in the back with a blue scarf."

Eiko looked down at the light blue scarf Mokuba had gotten her for her birthday. "I believe you know who Cleopatra's birthmother was?"

Eiko swallowed hard. She looked to Karu for help, but he was just as lost as her. Eiko turned back to the front of the room where Miss Richman was waiting.

"Um… I don't know…" Eiko admitted.

Miss Richman smiled. "Very good!" she applauded. "Like most royalty of that era, we're not one hundred percent sure who Cleopatra VII's mother was. Though our best guess is Cleopatra V," she explained.

Eiko breathed a sigh of relief. Karu smirked at her before passing another note. 'Someone got lucky.' Eiko smiled back before she gave Karu her note. 'Heck, yeah I did!'

* * *

Seto typed quickly on his computer; his fingers almost banged against the keyboard. Seto didn't look up when Akina walked in. "I got those forms you requested," she said, holding up a small stack of papers.

"Just place them on my desk," he said. His eyes were still glued to the computer screen as he typed. Akina sighed as she walked over and placed the papers on the desk just as Seto had requested. She then turned to leave, but stopped shortly.

"You know…" Akina began. She turned to face her boss. "Working all day isn't going to help your problems."

"What problems?" Seto said, still typing.

"Oh, don't play that game with me," Akina said, crossing her arms. "You're unhappy about something."

Seto stopped typing and looked at her, his eyes we completely blank showing no emotion. This was, of course, usual. Seto then turned his attention back to the computer, his fingers begging to drum against the keys once again. "I know I'm right."

"Don't all woman think they're right?" Seto said without emotion.

"What?" Akina said, offended.

"Just get back to work," Seto ordered. Akina gritted her teeth together. She then stormed out of the office and resisted the urge to slam the door as she left. Once she was out of the office, Akina cussed under her breath.

'What was his problem?' she thought before walking back to her desk. She started twirling her pencil out of boredom when a young man walked up.

"Excuse me?" he said. Akina looked up into a pair of dark green eyes. The boy's red hair was neatly combed back, showing off his chiseled face. Akina was speechless for a second. She then remembered where she was.

"Oh, um yes?" she said, trying to be smooth.

"I have a meeting with Mr. Kaiba," he explained.

"Oh, I see," Akina said, getting out her work planner. "And your name is?"

"Richman," he said smoothly. Akina looked down the list of names; sure enough, Richman's name was there, though she never remembered penciling him in.

"All rightly then," she said. "Just take a seat; he'll be with you shortly."

Mr. Richman nodded and then walked over to the nearby couch. Akina pressed the intercom button, "Mr. Kaiba, you have a visitor," she said.

"I thought I didn't have any meetings today?" Seto replied.

"I must of missed one, I'm sorry, sir." Akina could hear him breathe a sigh of discontent over the other line.

"Send him in." The other side of the line when blank.

Akina's face curled in anger. 'I swear to God I'm going to—'

"Is there something wrong?" Mr. Richman asked. Akina jumped a bit in her seat.

"Oh, nothing's wrong, Mr.—"

"Please, call me Brian," he said slyly.

"Okay, Brian," Akina said dreamily. 'First name basis, hell yes!' "You may go in to see Mr. Kaiba now," Akina said, smiling.

"Thank you," Brian said before walking into the office.

Seto looked up when he heard his door open. "Hello, Mr. Kaiba," Brian said. "My name is Mr. Richman." Kaiba nodded him towards the seat in front of him. Brian quickly sat down in the seat.

"So, what brings you here today?" Kaiba asked, hoping to get this meeting over with as soon as possible.

Brian smiled. 'This shouldn't be too difficult,' he thought to himself.

* * *

"As we know, compared to most empires at the time," Miss Richman said to the class, "Egypt was quite fair to its women. They had jobs, businesses… a woman could even divorce her husband if she wanted to. As Herodotus once wrote about Egypt, "the women urinate standing up, the men sitting down." Miss Richman looked up at the clock. "On that note, class is over. Do whatever you crazy kids do when you don't have little old me wearing you down." The students started standing up and packing up their notebooks.

"Man, she sure did talk a lot about women," Karu said, placing his textbook into his bag.

"Well let's face it, the freedom of women was one of the things that made Egypt unique," Eiko noted.

Karu looked at her. "True, but aren't we suppose to be focusing on Egypt's last days as an empire under free rule?"

"Cleopatra, last pharaoh of Egypt," Eiko remind Karu.

Karu shrugged. "I'm just saying," he said as they walked towards the door. "Yesterday we talked about Pompey, and today we talk about woman's right ceria 100 BC." Eiko was about to protest when a voice called her over.

"Oh, Miss Tsubaki!" Eiko turned to see Miss. Richman leaning against the side of her desk. "May I speak to you for a second?" she asked, her finger giving her a 'come-hither' motion. Eiko looked back at Karu.

"Wait for me outside?" she asked.

Karu gave her a frightened look. "But Chikako is out there! She's worse than any form of mountain _oni_!" Karu joked.

"Oh, man up!" Eiko said, pushing him towards the door. She then turned to look at Miss Richman. Eiko sighed. "Yes?" she asked as she walked towards the teacher.

"You know, Eiko, I've been a woman longer than I've been a teacher. And I can tell that there's something wrong."

Eiko looked down. "I just had a little fight with my boyfriend. That's all," she said, hoping the end the conversation.

Miss Richman shook her head. "Men; they always think they're right."

Eiko's head shot up. They two looked at each other, Miss Richman gave Eiko a smirk. She ripped a small piece of paper out of one of her notebooks and started to write on it. "I've gone though **plenty** of those conversations, sweetheart," she said handing Eiko the piece of paper. "Call me if you ever want to talk about it." Eiko took the paper; she looked on it to see a seven-digit number scribbled on it.

"T-thanks, Miss Richman…" Eiko said genuinely.

"It's not a problem, Eiko, oh and call me Hannah," Hannah said, smiling.

Eiko smiled back. "Okay, Hannah." Eiko turned to leave. She waved as she walked, "Bye, Hannah!" Eiko said. Hannah waved as well. After Eiko left, Hannah's phone rung; she recognized the number immediately. She flipped open her phone and placed the receiver to her ear. "What's up? Did you get in?"

"Damn him. Damn him to hell." Hannah smirked.

"Aw, did Brian's plan not work?" Hannah said with fake sympathy.

"That guy is not a man. I tried everything! Not even a moment he wanted to speak more! He just sent me on my way without even a second look!" Brian said angrily into the phone. Hannah shook her head.

"Never send a man to do a woman's job. I told you, Kaiba would be more likely to open up to a woman," Hannah said matter-of-factly.

"And I told you, he already has a girlfriend! And a pretty serious girlfriend from what I've heard."

"Eiko? Ha! Please, that girl wouldn't know sex appeal if it slapped her in the face. Kaiba would have been putty in my hands the second I walked into the room."

Brian was quite on the other end. "Did you get anywhere?" he asked.

"Actually, I did." Hannah sat on her hard wood desk. A devious smile came to her face. "Seems like Eiko needs a bit of boy help. And as we all know, I'm the girl for that job."

"So my plan did work," Hannah could almost hear Brian smiling over the other line.

Hannah's smile vanished. "Please, my idea would have worked just as well, if not better."

"Keep telling yourself that, sis," Brain said over the line. "So, how long do you think till we can put our second act into motion?" Brian asked.

Hannah grinned. "Normally, a few weeks, maybe a month. But," Hannah hopped off her desk and walked around to one of the drawers in her desk. She pulled out her deck. "If all things go as planned, we should be ready in five days."

"Best news I've heard all day," Brian said. The other line went blank as Brian hung up.

Hannah closed her phone and looked through her deck. She smiled. 'Nothing will stop us now.'

* * *

Aoi: oh Wikipedia, what would I do without you…


	3. Not A Business

Seto sat at his desk, his eyes looking at his computer's monitor blankly. Many thoughts rushed through his head but one in particular kept popping up. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He flipped it open; no missed calls or unread messages. He sighed and shut his phone loudly. Leaning back in his chair, his mind went to the one thought that had be making it difficult to work—to do anything really—Eiko.

It had been a few days since their fight and he still hadn't heard from her. She wasn't really that upset about it, was she? Seto pinched the bridge of his nose, what the hell was he supposed to do? Apologize? For what? Asking a simple question? Maybe they could just talk it out, like civil adults. After all, they weren't little kids anymore.

When they were younger, they would just yell it out till they both got tired and just decided to let it go. It was pretty effective, sure, but it never really solved anything. Seto looked up at the clock; it was a few minutes passed five and Eiko should be home. Seto stood up from his desk and grabbed his coat. He walked out of his office with it slung over his right shoulder.

"And where are you going at this hour?" Akina asked as Seto walked by briskly.

"None of your business." Kaiba said quickly, brushing Akina aside. "Besides, most people leave at this hour, don't they?"

Akina leaned back in her chair. "True," she said. "But since when are you like most people?" Akina asked when Kaiba was out of earshot.

* * *

Seto walked up the long flight of stairs to Eiko's apartment. As he walked he thought about what to say to Eiko: 'look, we were both out of line. I don't really care about how you beat Leud, okay? Just as long as you're alright, that's all that matters to me.' He rehearsed it over and over until he had it completely memorized. He walked down a narrow hallway until he reached the door marked "Tsubaki". With the back of his hand he knocked lightly.

A few seconds later the door opened, "Kaiba-san?"

"Look, we were both out of line—" Seto cut short when he realized who had answered the door. He had been expecting Eiko, but has instead met with Blue. "Oh, hi Blue. Is Eiko here?" he asked.

"No, I'm sorry, she's gone out with one of her friends," Blue explained.

"Oh," Seto said with a bit of annoyance on his face.

"Why don't you come in?" Blue said. "I just finished boiling a pot of tea."

"Thanks, but I—"

"Oh, come now, Kaiba," Blue said, cutting him off. "You really can't expect me to drink a whole pot myself; come in."

Seto didn't know how to refuse, so he walked in. "Red isn't here, right?" he asked, checking his surroundings before he got comfortable.

"No, Akai went out. I wish I could tell you where she went, but it's a mystery," Blue explained as she poured two cups of tea. "I really wish she would seize for such an action, for it does worry me often."

Seto hung up his coat and sat down at the small dining room table. Blue soon came over with the two cups of fresh tea.

Seto took a sip before looking down at the cup. "Why did you make so much tea if you knew you wouldn't be able to finish it?"

"Well, I was expecting Eiko to join me," Blue explained. "But her friend came over unannounced. She really was quite rude," she said, placing her cup down softly on her saucer.

"Was it Chikako?" Seto asked.

"No, it was a different girl. She was quite a beauty." Seto looked at his reflection in the shallow cup.

"Did you come here to apologize?" Blue asked. Seto's head shot up. "I assume you didn't come here with the intention to drink tea. Most people don't…" Blue took another sip of tea from her cup.

"I wasn't going to apologize." Blue turned her attention away from her drink and back to Seto. "I was going to negotiate. Say that we were both out of line."

"Ah yes, I believe you were just saying that as you entered," Blue said. Blue placed her cup down and walked over to Seto. She leaned over so they were face to face. "A word of advice to you," Blue began. "Don't be afraid to lie." Seto looked at her strangely. "You and I both know, Kaiba, that you're not a man who swallows his pride, at least not easily. But in today's society we aren't always expected to be as genuine as we once were. People will often say they're 'sorry' or that they 'love' a person even when they don't fully mean it. They do it to protect others and their feelings. Some even do it to protect a person's pride."

"Kaiba, Eiko is not a business deal that you can simply negotiate. She is a person. With feelings and opinions. She also has quite the personality. There's something to be said about a girl who can hold a grudge for years but forgive few friends in a matter of seconds. In many ways she's old fashioned; she loves a good apology. On the other hand, she's so oblivious that she can never tell when a person means what they say or just says it to get past a problem. If you really want to get through this storm, you must grit your teeth and let it take you where it wishes. Or pull down the sails and wait for a clearer day. And I have a good feeling you're not the kind of person to just give up because the weather doesn't permit.

"You have quite the ego Kaiba-san. And that's not exactly a bad thing…" Blue's eyes drifted off to the side, "well I suppose it more depends on whom you talk to but that's besides the point." Blue brought her attention back to Kaiba. "I think you can tell where I'm going with this Kaiba-san." Blue straightened her back and walked back towards her seat.

"So, you're telling me I should fake an apology?" Seto asked, making sure he understood everything correctly. Blue nodded as she sat back in her seat.

"Or act one out," Blue said whimsically. Shakespeare did say, _'All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are merely players,'"_ A small smile came to Blue's face as she spoke.

"_They have their exits and their entrances,'_" Seto continued.

"_And one man in his times plays many parts,'_"

"_His act being seven ages.'_" Seto finished.

"Ah, Shakespeare." Blue said, resting her head in the palms of her hands. "How you let even the least likely of people find a common ground."

* * *

"Thanks for the meal, Hannah." Eiko said as they walked back to her apartment.

"Not a problem, love. I was in college not too long ago, and believe me I would of love a few free meals," Hannah explained.

"Well, thanks anyway," Eiko said, flashing her famous smile. "See you around!" She waved as she walked back to her apartment.

"Likewise!" Hannah called back. Eiko quickly ran back to her apartment. She opened the door wide when she finally reached it.

"I'm home!" she called through the apartment. Blue sat in her usual spot at the dining room table. "Is Red here?" Eiko asked, looking around the apartment. Blue shook her head.

"I haven't seen her for hours, I hope she didn't do anything reckless…" Eiko walked into her bathroom. "Bye they way, Kaiba-san came over early today," Eiko almost dropped her toothbrush into the sink.

"Oh, really…." Eiko said, feeling a bit bad. "Did he have anything to say?"

"Yes, but not much. To be completely honest with you I did most of the talking," Blue admitted. Eiko looked down into her sink solemnly. She did miss Seto, but…

"Eiko." Eiko looked up to see Blue standing in her bathroom doorway. Eiko jumped a bit when she saw her. "Sorry for startling you," Blue said before continuing. "I think you should forgive Kaiba." Eiko looked down solemnly.

"I want to, but…." Eiko looked back up at Blue. "What if he keeps asking about Leud and our duel?"

Blue looked at her with surprise. "Is this really what all of this is about? A card game?"

"More like how the game ended," Eiko said, her voice trailing. Blue took Eiko's hands into her own.

"Eiko, I'm going to tell you something, something you must promise to never tell Red." Eiko was about to ask why she should never tell Red when Blue continued. "I don't mind Kaiba-san. In fact, I think you two are good for each other. And believe me, Eiko, Kaiba is more than willing to let that whole card game go."

"He said that to you?" Eiko asked, shocked by Blue's words. "That doesn't seem like Seto…"

"Well he never actually said that, but a woman's instinct is just as reliable as anything else," Blue said matter-of-factly. Eiko let a smile came to her face.

"I guess you're right. I'll talk to him tomorrow," Eiko said happily. Eiko then went to bed, thinking about what exactly to say to Seto as she drifted to sleep.

* * *

Hannah sat at a small desk in her dimly lit motel room. She looked through her desk, a stack of papers lying next to her elbow. The sound of her cell phone rang through the hotel room. She quickly reached to pick it up. "Hello," she said into the phone.

"Is everything ready for tomorrow?" Brain asked.

Hannah nodded. "Everything should go without a hitch. That is, as long as you're ready," Hannah said with a challenging tone.

"Please, I was born ready," Brian, replied.

"If I remember correctly, you said that just as you were about to go into the Kaiba Corp. building. And we all know how well that went."

"Shut up." Brian said over the line, his teeth clenched. "Speaking of Kaiba, do we really need to take him out too?"

"Getting cold feet, Brian?" Hannah asked, amused.

"Come on, sis, you and I both know what kind of duelist Kaiba is. How do we know an anti-deck will be enough to beat him?" Brian asked.

"Because, Brain, he's cocky and a lone wolf. Tag-team duels are unfamiliar territory to him. Plus now that him and his little girlfriend are having problems, there's no way he'll be able to beat us," Hannah said simply, leaning back in her chair.

"Yeah, but that Eiko girl…"

"What about her?" Hannah asked with a snarky tone.

"She seems like a pretty good duelist herself," Brian commented. "She might be a bigger challenge that we originally thought."

Hannah frowned. "Where is this coming from?" Hannah asked. "A few weeks ago you thought that Tsubaki girl would be the first one to go."

"Yeah, but that was before she beat Leud," Brian said.

"Don't go there." Hannah said angrily.

"What? Oh God, sis-"

"Shut up." Hannah said cutting him off.

"Sis, you dated him for like what, a month?"

"I told you to shut up, Brian!" Hannah yelled into the phone. "That Tsubaki girl is nothing, alright? Nothing! I don't know how she beat him…. But she's not going to beat us, alright?" Brain was silent. The words were exchanged between the two for what seemed like forever.

"Alight, sis… I'll see you tomorrow." Brian finally said, breaking the silence. "Two o'clock, right?" Brian asked just to make sure.

"On the dot." Hannah said, her voice calm once again. She slammed her phone shut, gripping it in her hands. He eyes darted to her desk once more. She placed her phone down, looking through the contents of her desk. A smile came to her face. She would be able to get revenge and a job well done in just one simple game.

'Master will be pleased.' Hannah looked down admiringly at her hand. A smile came to her face as he eyes grazed over her dark lotus tattoo. For the past few days she had to wear makeup to cover it up, but soon, she would get to show it with pride. The pride every member of Ward Sharier had.

* * *

Aoi: I was originally going to have Hannah say King in Arabic, but I then found that the translation was Malik… oh Yu-Gi-Oh


	4. Death of a Salesman

Aoi: Sorry this took so long bla bla bla… I was really busy bla bla bla… please enjoy the _longest_ chapter of D&G written thus far.

* * *

"Now, as we've talked about the past couple of days, Egypt was a place where a woman could truly flourish," Hannah lectured to the class. "But why Egypt? Why not Greece or developing Rome?"

As Eiko listened she felt a slight tap on her hand. She looked to see a small crumpled piece of paper situated next to her hand. Eiko quickly uncrumpled the paper, expecting it to be a note from Karu. She was surprised to instead see it was from Chikako.

'You look like you have something on your mind.' The note said. Eiko did; today right after class she was going to walk to Kaiba Corp to talk to Seto. It was a bit of a rash decision but Eiko wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. She still wasn't 100% sure as to what she wanted to say, but she hoped that the words would come to her when she was in Seto's office.

Suddenly Hannah dismissed the class. Eiko quickly stood up, grabbing her bag from the floor. "Oh, Miss Tsubaki," a familiar voice chimed. Eiko looked up to see Hannah giving her a come hither gesture. Eiko quickly walked down to see what she wanted.

"Yes, Miss Richman." Hannah waited till the rest of the class had left the building. She then turned to look at Eiko.

"You know, Eiko darling, I really have enjoyed the past few days here," Hannah said, a sinister hint to her voice.

Eiko nodded and smiled. "You're really do bring a lot to the classroom," she complimented.

"Ah, thank you," Hannah walked over to one of the drawers in her desk. She carefully pulled out a small vial of a clear liquid. "I really do hope I can find a good teaching job in the area." As she spoke Hannah pulled a handkerchief from her side pocket.

"That would be great!" Eiko said happily. "That way we could see each other." Hannah smiled at Eiko as she poured the clear liquid onto her handkerchief.

Eiko looked up at clock placed in the front of the class. "I should be going, I'm meeting someone soon," Eiko explained.

"Have fun," Hannah said over cheerfully. Eiko waved as she turned towards the door. Her back now faced Hannah.

'Perfect,' she thought. Hannah quickly darted from her desk to Eiko, placing the cloth over her nose and mouth. Hannah made sure to muffle Eiko's loud cries of fear as Hannah held her tightly by the waist.

"I would just give up if I were you," Hannah said darkly to Eiko as she attempted to wriggle away. Eiko's eyes started to close; her body became limp and unmoving. "Sweet dreams," Hannah, said, her voice dripping in fake compassion.

Hannah dragged Eiko to the classroom's side door. She opened it to see Brian, sitting in the front of a white van. As soon as Brian saw Hannah he jumped out of the van and grabbed Eiko from Hannah's hands. Hannah quickly grabbed Eiko's bag and rummaged through its contents. "Where is her damn phone," she muttered to herself. Brian managed to open up the back of the van, where he tied Eiko's hands and feet and covered her mouth with tape. He then placed her in the back of the van and slammed the doors shut behind him.

When he turned to walk back to the front of the car he saw Hannah holding a small silver flip phone. "How much you wanna bet this has Kaiba's _personal_ number on it?" Brian grabbed the phone from his sister's hand and flipped it open.

"You drive, I'll make the call." As the two hopped in the front seats Hannah gave her brother a strange look.

"Won't Kaiba recognize your voice though?" she asked.

"Yes, but that way he wont think this just for some ransom. He'll probably think it's more personal considering how bad our conversation ended since the last time I saw him," Brian explained looking through the phone's contents.

"Just remember, don't call her right away, we need to reach the rendezvous point before he does," Hannah remind him.

"I know, I know." And with that the two drove off, Eiko still unconscious in the back of the van.

* * *

Seto sat in his desk looking over a large pile of papers. He looked over the words carefully making sure to stop any errors in the contract. Outside his office Akina and PK talked.

"Am I the only one who thinks Kaiba's been acting a bit strange?" Akina asked, her eyes drifting towards the double doors of her boss' office.

"If you ask me he's acting normal," PK said taking a sip of her coffee.

Akina looked back at PK. "Why do I sense a double meaning to that statement?" Akina asked.

PK swallowed her coffee before she continued. "Kaiba acted like this a lot before Eiko, remember?"

Akina's eyes widened. "Oh my God, you're right. I mean… Eiko really didn't change much when it came to Kaiba's sparkling personality," Akina said sarcastically. "But I guess how demanding and harsh he was to his workers did change."

"Yeah, he become more understanding and less, 'I need this right now.'"

"I guess having a time-oblivious girlfriend will do that to you."

PK looked down at her coffee. "I really hope those two make up, I kind of miss her," PK admitted.

"Yeah, I miss her too," Akina, agreed. "I mean, I finally had an excuse to look at dresses all day! Plus it gave me 100 new ways to harass Kaiba!" Akina said cheerfully.

PK looked up at Akina. "You know, I sometimes wonder how you still have this job."

Inside the office, Seto was still hard at work when he heard a buzzing coming from his desk. He looked to see his phone lighting up. He picked it up wondering who it could be considering pretty much everyone who had his number knew he was busy at work. The phone's caller I.D. flashed Eiko's name. Kaiba raised his eyebrows in confusion. She always called the office when she needed to talk to him during work hours, never by his cell phone. The phone continued to ring, Seto pressed the accept call button and placed the phone to his ears. "Eiko?" Kaiba said into the phone.

"Close, but no cigar." A deep voice said over the line. Seto's eyes widened, he faintly recognized the voice. "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh Kaiba, I'm hurt. You've forgotten me already?"

Seto then remembered where he had heard the voice before. "You're Brian Richman, the man I spoke to a couple of days ago…"

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" Seto gritted his teeth together.

"What the hell are you doing with Eiko's phone?" Seto asked a murderous tone in his voice.

"Eiko? As in Eiko Tsubaki?" Brian said in a faux surprised tone. "As in _your_ Eiko Tsubaki? Oh, I had no idea!"

"Cut the crap, Brian! What the hell do you want?" Kaiba yelled into the phone.

"Easy, easy," Brian said in a calming tone. "I just wanted to tell you that you better listen to me and follow my instructions," Brian explained.

"And why the hell would I—" Kaiba stopped short for a second. He pulled his phone back to make sure it was Eiko's number. He quickly placed the phone back to his ear. "You have Eiko, don't you?"

"You know, Kaiba, for C.E.O. you're kind of slow." Kaiba gripped the phone in his hands.

"Let her go you scum before I send my team out to track you down."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Kaiba," Brian said with a sly tone.

"And why not? My head of security is right outside my door. I could tell her and she would have you in the next ten minutes."

"Because you don't know what I could do in those ten minutes." Brian said bluntly. Kaiba was silent on the other line. "Do you really want to take that chance, Kaiba? As far as you know by the time your men find me, Eiko could be stone cold dead. Or worse, alive, but—"

"Shut up." Seto said, cutting him off. Seto was quite for a few moments. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Drive to outskirts of Domino. All the way to Mount Jimba. Bring two duel disks and your deck."

"You want to duel me? Why?" Seto asked.

"Who doesn't want a chance to duel with the legendary Seto Kaiba?" Brian said simply.

Seto looked down at his desk. "Alright. I'll be there."

"Good." Brian said. Just as Seto was about to hang up Brian spoke again. "Remember this just in case you think about telling anyone." The other line went dead. Seto didn't know what Brian was talking about until he saw the message on his phone. He opened up the text to see a picture of Eiko with her writs tied together, he mouth covered in duct tape. Seto almost flung his phone against the wal, the anger boiled up inside of him. Seto quickly stood up and rushed towards the door. Suddenly Akina walked in. "Here are those papers you wanted me to—where are you going?" Akina asked as Seto stormed past her.

"Mr Kaiba—" PK said when she saw Seto walked out of his office. "Where are you—" Seto didn't stay to hear the end of her sentence. He hopped into the elevator and clicked the bottom floor. As soon as the doors opened he walked briskly to his car. He slammed the door behind him and started up the car. As he drove of he saw Akina and PK running out of the KC building chasing after him. He pressed on the accelerator as hard as he could and drove towards his destination.

* * *

Seto final reached Mount Jimba; he stepped out of his car and looked up at the tall mountain. "So you came." A voice said behind him. Seto quickly turned to see a woman with glasses and red flaming hair. "Well, we knew you would come but—"

"Who are you?" Seto said, interrupting the woman.

"I was just getting to that," the woman said in an annoyed tone. "My name is Hannah, Hannah Richman. I'm Brian's sister."

"I see, you both have red hair and horrible people skills."

"I wouldn't be so feisty, Kaiba, after all, we still have Eiko, and it's a long climb to the top." Seto look at Hannah with disgust. "Just take me to where you're keeping her, alright?"

"Do you have the duel disk?" Hannah asked. Seto opened up the trunk of his car; he pulled out a metal briefcase. He opened up the case to reveal two duel disks.

"Good. Now follow me." Hannah started walking towards the mountain. For a long time the two walked on the set path, but it wasn't long till Hannah started veering off. She looked back at Kaiba, "Well, come on. This way." Seto trudged up the mountain, following Hannah.

"Is there any particular reason you decided to bring me here? And off the path for that matter?"

"Because, we wouldn't want anyone to spoil our fun," Hannah said slyly, peering back at Seto. Hannah looked back up the mountain. "We should be there in about five minutes. So don't lag behind."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Seto said through his teeth.

The two soon reached a large cliff on the side of the mountain, Brain stood by the cliff's edge waiting for the two. "Ah, there you are," Brian said, smiling. "I'm glad you made it, and in such a short amount of time too."

"Where the hell is Eiko." Seto said in a demanding voice. Hannah looked at her brother, an awaiting look on her face.

"Go get the girl." Brain ordered. Hannah walked into a nearby brush of trees. About a minute later, she had Eiko with her.

"Eiko!" Seto yelled when he saw her; her mouth was still covered in duct tape, and her hands were tied together with a thick rope. Hannah threw Eiko onto the ground near Seto. He quickly ran down to her, dropping his briefcase in the process. He quickly tore off the tape coving Eiko's mouth. "Eiko, are you okay? Did they hurt you? Damn it, how did this happen?" Seto asked as he freed Eiko's hands from the rope. As soon as Eiko's hands were free, she grabbed Seto into a hug. She buried her head into Seto chest; Seto could hear the faint cries as he felt his shirt become moist with her tears.

"Seto, I was so scared." Eiko said in between her cries. One minute I was at school and the next I was being dragged through a forest."

Seto held her close, lightly stroking her hair.

"Ahem." A deep voice coughed. Seto and Eiko turned to see Brian with his arms crossed, his sister Hanna stood beside him, her hands placed firmly on her hips. "I believed I was promised a duel," Brian reminded Kaiba of the deal they had made. Kaiba stood up, carrying Eiko with him.

"Eiko," Seto whispered to her. "I want you to run down the mountain to my car. Call PK and tell her—"

"She has to duel too." Brian said pointing at Eiko. Kaiba give Brian a dirty look.

"You never said anything about Eiko. Keep her out of this."

"Excuse me?" Hannah said looking at Kaiba. "I think she's already had a huge part in this already, why change it? Besides," Hannah walked over to a large rock; she pulled a duffel bag out from behind it. She opened up the bag and pulled out a duel disk, she quickly placed one on her arm and looked back at the couple. "Who am I suppose to duel then?" Eiko and Seto looked at Hannah in shock, both for different reasons.

"W-ward Sharier…" Eiko stuttered. "Y-you're a part of it?" she yelled pointing towards the lotus tattoo on her hand.

"Yes, both of us are," Hannah, said, grabbing another duel disk out of the bag and giving it to her brother. Hannah looked back at Kaiba. "I suppose you've guessed why we truly wanted to duel you." Seto was quiet. He looked at Brian and Hannah, unsure of what to do. He suddenly felt something shoved into his hands. He looked down too see one of the duel disks he had brought with him. He turned to see Eiko holding the other disk, a determined look on her face.

"We'll duel you." Eiko said. She looked up at Seto, and before he could speak Eiko said, "They'll only let us go if we duel them. I know we can beat them. Just like we have with everyone else from Ward Sharier." Seto smirked. He looked back at his opponents.

"I hope you're prepared to lose." They all turned on their duel disks and the battle began.

* * *

Yugi and his friends stood around in the Game shop, bored and unsure of what to do.

"Hey," Jonouchi said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room. "Doesn't Eiko usually work today—" but suddenly the door to the shop slammed open. Everyone turned to see Akina.

"Akina?" Bakura said in confusion. "What are you—?"

"Have any of you guys seen Mr. Kaiba?" she asked quickly. Everybody shook their heads 'no.' "Damn it!" Akina then slammed the door of the Game shop.

"Wait, Akina!" Bakura yelled after her, running out of the game shop. As soon as he left, Honda spoke.

"What do you think that was all about?"

"Maybe we should go see…" Anzu suggested, walking towards the Game shop door. Everyone followed as Anzu walked out of the shop. Akina and Bakura were standing outside, it was hard to tell if they were arguing or just talking. As the group approached, they were able to hear their conversation more clearly.

"So he just left, without giving you any reason whatsoever?" Bakura asked.

"Reasons? He didn't even look me in the eye! Let alone talk to me!" Akina yelled, her arms flailing up into the air.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked. Suddenly a small black car pulled up to the curve of the Game shop.

"I was just at the house," PK said, her head leaning out the window. "The maid staff said Mr. Kaiba was there about half an hour ago. He didn't say anything to anyone though."

"Guys, what's going—"

"He didn't say anything?" Akina asked cutting Yugi off.

PK shook her head. "They did say they saw him leave with brief case, but no one knows what was inside of it."

"Guys!" Yugi said louder, this time getting Akina and PK's attention. "What's going on? Where's Kaiba?" the two were quiet.

Bakura spoke up on their behalf. "Kaiba left the office without warning. No one knows where he is," he explained.

"Maybe he's out with Eiko," Jonouchi suggested. Everyone turned to look at him. "Well… I mean she's not at work or anything so…"

"Mr. Kaiba would tell us if he were with Eiko. Besides, they haven't exactly had the best couple of weeks," PK admitted.

"I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this, guys…" Anzu said. Suddenly a loud beeping sound was heard. PK pulled out her phone; she quickly pressed the 'accept call' button.

"Hello?" she said into the phone. PK nodded her head as the person on the other line spoke. "What? Are you sure?" she said, her voice urgent. PK was quiet once again. "Ok, if you get anything else, call me right away." PK then hung up her phone she turned to the group. "I have some really bad news." Everyone looked at PK in silence waiting for what she had to say. "Mr. Kaiba received a phone call about an hour or so ago. The person on the phone told him to come to Mount Jimba or else."

"Or else what?" Yugi asked. PK looked towards the outskirts of the city, over where Mount Jimba was located.

"PK?" Akina said softly to her friend. PK turned her attention back to the group.

"We're currently in a code blue," Akina's eyes widened in shock. "Akina, come with me." Akina quickly hopped into the passenger's seat of the car. Before anything else could be said the two drove off.

"What the hell does code blue mean?" Jonouchi asked.

"Beats me," Honda said, shrugging.

Jonouchi looked down at Yugi. "Should we follow them?"

"How are we supposed to do that? We don't have a car, remember?" Honda reminded Jonouchi.

"We could walk," Jonouchi suggested.

"All they way to Mount Jimba?" Anzu said.

"Fine then! Lets not find out what's going on!" Jonouchi said angrily. "Lets just let those two do it all!" Jonouchi yelled gesturing to were PK and Akina had drove off.

"Jonouchi, it's not that we don't want to find out what's going on…" Yugi explained.

"It's just that every idea you come up with is stupid." Honda said.

"Oh you little—"

"What's going on?" a familiar voice said. Everyone turned to see Mai, standing by the entrance to the Game shop. Jonouchi smiled deviously.

"Mai, do you still have that car you used during Battle City?"

* * *

"Gladiator Beast Andal, destroy her Magician's Valkyria!" Brian said. The large bear slashed his paw at the magician, breaking it into a thousand pieces. Eiko life points dropped down to 1000, Kaiba still had 2800 left, while Brian and Hannah had 2000. Kaiba had Hitotsu-Me Giant on the field, Brian had Gladiator Beast Andal, and Hannah had Lady Panther. Both Hannah and Brian had one card placed face down on the field. Kaiba looked at Brian and Hannah with disgust. 'I knew this would happen…' he thought to himself. 'Eiko's deck isn't as powerful as the rest of ours so their aiming most of their attacks at her.' Eiko drew a card from her deck.

"I place one card face down and end my turn," a card appeared face down on the field and Hannah smiled. "I really hope you don't think that one card can protect you." A smile came to her face. Eiko swallowed hard, afraid of what she might do next.

* * *

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this." Mai said, driving herself and the entire group in her small convertible.

"Hey, come on! We need to know what's going on!" Jonouchi told her. Bakura felt something vibrate in his pocket.

He reached in and pulled out his phone. "Hello?" he said.

"Stop following us!" Akina said her voice enraged.

Bakura tried to stay cool. "We're not following you…"

"Oh, that's right, _we're_ the one doing to stalking."

"What are you—" Bakura looked in Mai's review mirror to see PK and Akina driving behind them.

"When did we pass them?" Bakura said loudly over the roaring wind.

"Pass who?" Honda asked, as he was crammed in beside him.

"Them!" Bakura said pointing behind them. Honda looked back to where he was pointing.

"Oh wow, they're good."

Soon the two groups reached Mount Jimba, Akina recognized Seto's car the moment she laid eyes on it. "If that's Kaiba's car then he must be up the mountain." PK nodded in agreement. "We should park and- PK what are you?" Akina yelled as PK drove her car towards the mountain path. "PK, that's a walking path! We're not suppose to-"

"Screw it!" PK yelled and slammed her foot on the accelerator petal. Yugi and his friends watched the two in aw from Mai's car.

"Well, guess we better follow them." Jonouchi said bluntly. Mai look at him with an are-you-crazy look on her face. Mai breathed heavily,

"You guys are paying for the fines." She then placed her foot on the accelerator and followed PK and Akina up the mountain.

The groups arrived at a small lookout halfway up the mountain. Everyone jumped out of their cars to look for Seto and Eiko. Bakura ran to pair of binoculars situated at the edge of the lookout. "See anything?" Akina asked.

"No not- wait!" Bakura said suddenly. "I see them!" he yelled over his shoulder at the rest of the group. Akina pushed him aside to look through the binoculars. PK quickly arrived at her side,

"What's going on? Do you see Mr. Kaiba?"

"Yeah, there on the ledge over there," Akina said pointing towards one of the mountain's peeks. "They're dueling someone but… I can't tell who…"

"We'll figure that out latter, now we have to get over there and do whatever we can to help Mr. Kaiba. PK sprinted towards her car. Akina followed, jumping in just as PK started her car. Yugi and his friends quickly followed making sure not to lose the two on the mountain path.

* * *

Meanwhile, Eiko stood in fear, not knowing what Hannah's next move would be. Hannah smiled she enjoyed watching Eiko squirm. In Hannah's mind, Eiko had started to resemble a dear, paralyzed in fear as the headlights of a car came rushing towards it. As much as Hannah wanted to watch Eiko wriggle in fear some more, the taste of victory was close at hand. With a smirk Hannah called out her move, "I activate the trap car, 'Ragieki Break.' By sending one card from my hand I can send one of your cards to the graveyard. And I chose, your face down card!" Hannah exclaimed pointing towards the card as it shattered like glass. Eiko gasped in shock. "Now, 'Lady Panther,' attack Miss Tsunami directly." Eiko braced herself for the attack, knowing that it would drop her life points to zero.

"Defend!" Eiko's eyes shot open just in time for her to see Hitotsu-Me Giant jump in front of Lady Panther, blocking the attack from reaching Eiko. Eiko quickly looked over at Seto, a smirk on his face. "I'm not letting you two win, especially with your coward game strategy," Kaiba said pride in his voice. Eiko was still looking over at Seto when she felt a small shake. She quickly looked down at the ground. At first nothing moved but the ground shook again, causing her to fall to the ground. Eiko had spent all her eighteen years in Japan, only leaving the country once to go to America with Seto. It was only natural that she knew what was going on, 'earthquake,' she though quickly.

Hannah turned to face her brother. "Brian! I don't think we should-" suddenly a shake jotted Hannah forward, falling to the ground. Brian didn't turn to his sister; he instead starred at Kaiba with determined eyes.

"Well Kaiba, it's your move…" Brian said in a taunting tone. Seto lifted his hand to his deck to draw.

"Seto!" Eiko yelled before Seto had a chance to draw a card. "We have to get off of this cliff! I don't think it can-" a loud 'crack' interrupted Eiko. Eiko looked to see deep fracture on the surface of the cliff. The fracture was close to the side of the cliff that hung onto the mountains. Eiko could only guess what would happen if the fracture grew. Before Eiko could attempt to stand she felt a force pulling her up from the ground. She looked up to see Seto, a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Giving up Kaiba?" the two turned to look at Brian. A dark gin showed on his face. Eiko herd another crack. She looked down expecting to see that the fracture had grown. But it instead remained the same size it was a few moments before. Eiko's eyes ran down the cliff to where Brian was standing. Another fracture had cut its way into the cliff; this time close to it's edge. Eiko didn't even have time to warn him.

Brian soon plummeted down, the chunk of rock he had be standing on leading him down. "Brian!" Hannah yelled after him, looking down the side of the mountain. She then turned her attention back to Eiko and Seto, her face twisted in anger. "You'll pay for that." She spoke she tore off a sharp piece of rock from edge of the cliff. She held the rock like a dagger; blood dripping slightly from her hands as she gripped it's jagged edges.

Eiko looked back at Hannah, her eyes wide with fear. Seto knew Eiko wasn't going to be moving on her own until Hannah was out of the way. Without another though Seto pushed Eiko towards the side of the mountain. She tumbled down into the brush of trees and bushes, muttering small cries of pain as she fell. Once he knew Eiko was safe Seto pulled his attention back to Hannah. A crazed smile came to her face. "I wanted to kill the girl more but you'll do just fine."

* * *

After falling for what felt like an eternity, Eiko finally landed in a bush down the mountain. She winced in pain as she attempted to stand up. Looking over her body she found many cuts and burses, running her fingers through he hair she felt a mass of twigs and leafs entangled in her locks. Looking up the mountain she remembered why she had been pushed in the first place. "Seto!" she called out, running up the mountain as fast as she could. After tripping several times and having to grab hold of various trees and bushes Eiko final reached Seto and Hannah. When she found them they were squaring off, a few meters apart, looking like two male wolfs about to fight for dominates. Suddenly Eiko herd a familiar 'crack.' She looked down to see the riff had grown tremendously. "Seto!" Eiko yelled without thinking. "You have to get off-" Hannah suddenly became aware of Eiko's percents. She turned to Eiko, a wild look in her eyes. Eiko cried out in fear as Hannah lunged towards her.

Before Hannah could touch Eiko Seto grabbed onto her waist, pulling her back. "Damn it Eiko! Was pushing you down a mountain not enough of hint to tell you to get away from here?" Seto yelled angrily at his girlfriend. Suddenly Hannah took the stone and stabbed it into Seto's hand. In that moment Eiko pulled Hannah away from Seto and pushed her towards the side of the cliff. Eiko held Seto's injured hand.

"This is bad," she said looking over his wound. "We need to-" a womanly cry cut Eiko off mid-sentence. She turned to where Hannah had once stood to see that she was gone, along with a chunk of the deteriorating cliff.

"Eiko." Seto said softly. Eiko turned back to face Seto. 'CRACK.'

Before Eiko knew what was gonging on, she was pushed back. She closed her eyes as she felt her body grow weightless as she flew through the air. She soon landed on the hard ground with a thud. When she opened her eyes the cliff she had been standing on was gone. Looking out she could see nothing but the trees from the peek across from the one she was sitting upon.

She could faintly hear the sounds of car doors closing, and sound of her name being called. "Eiko! Eiko!" Familiar voices chimed. Eiko looked over were the cliff had fallen. The fall was steep, but was curved enough that a person could walk down it. The only thing Eiko remembered was running. Running down the steep hill, tripping over rocks and debris, as people called out her name in worry. Before she could reach the bottom, an unknown forced pulled down Eiko to the ground. She tumbled down to the bottom of the hill, where she landed in a small field of grass. Eiko found herself looking at her own refection, in too dark mirrors of glass.

"Eiko…" PK said huffing for air. "What… is going on? Why did you run?" PK asked still struggling to regain her breath. Tears filled Eiko's eyes.

"PK…" she wined before grabbing her into a hug. PK was taken aback as Eiko's tears soaked her black blazer. Soon the rest of the group made it to the bottom of the hill.

"What's going on?" Jonouchi asked looking at the two girls. "What happened?" PK turned to the group, an uncomfortable look on her face.

"I… don't know…" Anzu stepped forward, she walked over to Eiko and placed her hand her shoulder.

"Eiko…" Aznu said softly. Eiko lifted her head away from PK and turned to face Anzu. "What happened?"

"Seto- he- he-"

"PK!" a voice yelled urgently. PK recognized Akina's voice and ran towards the sound. As she got closer Akina's cries become quicker and more urgent.

"What?" PK said when she finally reached Akina. Honda and Bakura looked at PK, their faces serious.

"PK!" Akina yelled turning PK's attention towards her. Fear covered Akina's face; her body shook as she pointed towards the ground. PK gasped when she looked down

Seto's coat lay on the ground; the white fabric had become stained with blood and dirt. PK looked back up at Akina. "Did you-"

"No." Honda said cutting her off. "This was all we found so far…" the group heard the sounds of approaching footsteps.

"You guys found something?" Jonouchi asked walking up to PK. Yugi followed closely behind. The two followed Bakura and Honda's gaze down to the ground. "Is that?" Jonouchi asked his voice shaky.

"I'm afraid so…" PK said her voice emotionless.

"Kaiba…" Yugi said apologetically, as if Seto were standing right in front of him. Anzu and Mai son arrived. They wrapped around Eiko like a pair of blankets as the guided her towards the group. Before Azu and Mai had time to react, Eiko saw Seto's coat. Eiko's breathing became shaky, her knees started to shake.

"No…" she spoke quietly. "No, no, no…" Mai rested her hands on Eiko's shoulder. Elko's knees buckled under her. Anza and Mai struggled to keep her from hitting ground. A symphony of loud sobbing could be heard as Eiko put all of her weight on her two friends. Akina soon came over to help Mai and Anzu hold her up. Akina looked down at the ground solemnly, her long black hair covering her face.

"PK…. Mai…" Akina said after Eiko's sobs had become quieter. "Go get the cars. Anzu and I will stay here with Eiko." the sound of thunder could be heard over the horizon, as dark clouds started to cover the night sky. PK nodded and started to walk towards the cars. Mai stood still, looking at Eiko with sympathetic eyes. Mai felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She turned to see PK standing behind her.

"We need to get Eiko home. To someplace safe, where she can talk to her sisters." Mai looked back at Eiko one last time before she let go and walked with PK. Anzu and Akina set Eiko down on the grass where they continued to comfort her. Droplets of rain started to fall, covering the group in cool water. Bakura's looked down at the rain-covered ground. Honda looked at Jonouchi who was looking up at the cloud-covered sky, an emotionless mask covering his face. Yugi still started at Kaiba's coat, still lying on the ground.

"Who did this?" Yugi said quietly to himself.

"Ward Sharier!" Eiko yelled over the rain. Everyone looked at her in shock. "Ward Sharier did this! Yugi!" Eiko looked up at Yugi, the tears in her eyes melding with the rain that had fallen on her face. "Please find them. Find the people who run it. S-Seto and I-" she stopped for a moment, letting out a small sob before continuing. "We couldn't find them! Please Yugi I'm begging you!" Eiko held her head in her dirt-covered hands. Yugi walked over to Eiko, got down on one kneed and placed both hands on her shoulders.

"I will Eiko. I will."

* * *

Aoi: I almost forgot how much I hate writing duels… And yes, plot just happened.

I wish I could say I will update this as soon as possible but… I've recently wanted to try to write less fan-fiction and more original fiction. Now that doesn't mean that I won't be updating this. It just means that the chapters will be a bit less frequent. (But I wont make you guys wait a year for a new chapter. that's just ridiculous.) If any of you are interested in reading some of my original fiction (which I'm hoping you are…) you can find me at _Aoi Scales_ at FictionPress . com

Thank you all, and I hope to write to you all soon.


	5. Rain

Aoi: LOOK! I'm still alive! Since I haven't updated in forever (yes, four months counts as forever now) I decided to post a shot chapter (and to think I used to think over 1000 words was long…). So here it is! A short, but hopefully informative, chapter!

* * *

The halls and offices of Kaiba Corp. were barren, devoid of life. You could count on one hand how many souls still reside the large building. Two of those wandering souls, were Akina and PK. Sitting, hunched over piles of papers, the two were mostly silent as they read through the pile. PK leaned back in her chair to rub her eyes. "Found anything important yet?" PK mumbled.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Akina replied, her eyes still glued to the piece of paper in front of her. Pausing for a second, she placed the paper to the side, "what are we even looking for exactly? We know what Kaiba wanted to happen to the company in case he died."

"Mokuba is too young. He needs too grow up a bit more before he can run this place don't you think?" PK heard a sniffling sound from across the table. She looked over at Akina, her eyes looking down at the scattered mound of papers she had already read. A sad look covered her face. "Akina?" PK said, concerned. Akina sniffled once more,

"I-I guess your right… Mokuba is too… too," her face crinkled up in sadness. "Young!" she wailed before covering her face with her hands. The sound of loud sobbing could be heard echoing though the room. PK jumped out of her seat to comfort her friend. She placed her hands upon Akina's quivering shoulders. Before PK could speak, Akina cried, "his face! H-his poor little-"

"Akina, it's ok…. It's ok…" PK said consoling her friend.

"When we told him Kaiba was dead-"

"I know…" PK said, her voice trailing.

* * *

That night had been one of worse nights either of them had experienced. After failing to find any other remains of Kaiba-beside's his bloodstained coat- Akina and PK had taken Eiko to the Kaiba mansion. She had refused to go home, saying that she needed to see Mokuba. The rain still poured heavily, when they saw Mokuba. "Where's Seto?" he had said. Eiko had been clutching onto her shoulders the whole ride there. As if she might fall apart at any minute. She looked down at the paved ground, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. Mokuba was smart. He could tell something was wrong. "Guys… where's Seto?" no one spoke. The air was chill. "Guys-" he said more urgently now, "what's going on? Is he hurt?" silence still. "What's wrong with my brother!" he yelled against the rain.

"Mokuba," PK said quietly. "We think, that Kaiba is dead." Mokuba's eyes widened in shock, "I'm sorry." PK said looking down at her polished shoes. Tear's started to form into Mokuba's eyes. He quickly balled his hand into a fist, desperately trying to wipe the tears away. Small whimpering sounds escaped his mouth.

"…Mokuba?" Akina said gently. Mokuba turned and ran towards the house, Akina called after him. "Mokuba!" she turned to Eiko, she stood as she had before, only now her front teeth were clenched over her lips. Small mumbling sounds escaped her mouth, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. "Eiko come on! Mokuba needs us, you know him better than us." Silence. "Eiko!-"

"Akina," PK interrupted. She turned around, heading back towards the car, "lets go," she said. "We have a lot of things to figure out, Mokuba and Eiko will be fine." And with that they left, with Mokuba in tears and Eiko still standing in the rain.

* * *

Izono, Mizori, and Mallory sat in the center of the deserted waiting area of Kaiba Corp. Almost all of the employs had been called, telling them not to come to work. However since Mallory had provided PK a false number, she had been unaware of the sudden holiday. When she arrived, Mizori told her the bad news. "So, Kaiba is dead?" she asked, sitting on the hard tiled floor.

"Yes," Mizori replied, not caring if his suit got dirty, "at least, as far as we know." Mallory shook her head.

"_Das Leben ist das einzige Gut des Schlechten," _she said before reaching into her bag and bulling out a flask.

"We're not suppose to drink on the premises," Izono reminded her.

"Does it really matter at this point?" she said offering it up to Izono. Sighing, he took the flask from her hand and took a quick swig before passing it to Mizori.

"You seem fairly beat up about this," Izono noted. "Why?" Mallory sighed.

"I guess because he was my only ticket out of the country. He needs to sign the proper paperwork before I'm allowed to leave here." Mallory took the flask from Mizori and took a long gulp. She looked back at the two men, "I feel bad for Markus."

"Markus?" Mizori asked.

"My pet turtle," she explained. "Well, he was my pet turtle. I don't really think he's still around." She took another long swig of alcohol. "So what's going to happen now? To Kaiba Corp. I mean."

"PK and Akina are trying to figure that out now as we speak," Izono explained. "They're looking through all of Kaiba's papers trying to see what he wanted to happen to the company if he died and Mokuba wasn't ready to take on the role of C.E.O."

"As far as we know, Mokuba is going to become the C.E.O. whether we like it or not." Mizori commented. Malory looked at him quizzically. Mizori explained. "It was a well known fact that Kaiba wanted Mokuba to take over if he died. There's no denying that."

"But we don't know if he had another rule to that," Izono interrupted. "Like a certain age, or qualifications that Mokuba needed in order for him to take over the company."

"Not to mention partners with Kaiba Corp. might get a bit flustered at the idea of thirteen-year-old running a billion dollar company." Mizori added. Suddenly the group heard a 'bing' sound coming from across the room. They turned to see the elevator doors start to open. Mallory quickly grabbed the flask and flung it over towards a group of plastic trees. PK and Akina walked out of the elevator, a determined tone to their strut. Izono and Mizori hoped up from the ground.

"Did you find anything?" Izono asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Akina said stopping in front of Izono. She shoved a piece of paper at him. He quickly grabbed and examined it. A line had been highlighted.

'_If Kaiba Seto is no longer available for his duties as C.E.O. and his next of kin is still under the age of 18, he shall be returned to the Sacred Ones Orphanage…" _"Who wrote this?" Izono exclaimed shocked by what he had just read. Mizori looked over his shoulder.

"Did Kaiba write that?" he asked, not believing what he was seeing.

"No. It's an old, but still in effect, contract Gozeburoh wrote up." Akina explained.

"I can't believe this," Izono said still in shock.

"Join the club," PK said, her voice cracking slightly.

"So what does this mean for Master Mokuba?" Mizori asked. "Will he be sent back to the orphanage?"

"I don't know yet. I really don't think any of the lawyers who helped Gozeburoh write that contract up care."

"But and old KC employee might," PK explained.

"Didn't Kaiba fire a bunch of employees once he came into power?" Mallory asked, still sitting on the ground.

"Hell, he practically fired the whole company. Especially after Duelist Kingdom." Mizori said.

"Come on," Akina said walking diligently towards the doors. "We need to find out more about this contract." Mallory stood up she looked down at PK.

"Wouldn't this only matter if anyone knew that Kaiba was dead?" Mallory asked. "From what I've heard you guys made sure that no one knew about his death."

"Don't hold your breath, there are way to many people who would love to see Kaiba dead. We might of razed suspicion by closing headquarters for the day. Not the mention all of the maids at the mansion, chauffeurs, pretty much anyone could guess that something's up."

"Don't forget Ward Sharier!" Akina called as she opened the door to leave.

"Oh right, them." PK deadpanned. She then ran quickly to catch up with PK.

* * *

Thoughts while writing this chapter:

God this is depressing. I'm going to need five-minute breaks to keep myself from becoming depressed.

I just went from 'small child crying' to, 'business partner drinking circle.' How did this-?

You think there would be more useable German sayings...

God damn-it how the hell do you spell 'chauffeur?'

Ah…. My back hurts.


End file.
